Real Making: How "God" Becomes Reality (by Tanya M. Luhrmann)

I received unexpected feedback from two of my former mentors to whom I had sent a copy of this book. Both mentors sent me reflections to the effect that, while they agreed with many points of the author's analysis, they found the countercultural values within themselves to be irrepressible. In this research book, which discusses the nature of religion, they seemed to sense a kind of critique of the values and worldviews derived from the culture of the 1960s, which had a major influence on their generation. Born in the early 1950s, they are nearly a decade older than the author, Luhrmann, who was born in 1959.

Luhrmann herself appears to be someone who grew up in an environment heavily influenced by the 1960s. Describing the 1960s and 70s, when people were interested in spirituality beyond individual religions based on so-called New Age culture, Luhrmann writes, "it was as if all religions were part of a global Kumbaya" (p. 237). "Kumbaya" is a folk-style gospel song frequently sung in the 1960s, derived from African Americans singing "Come by Here [Lord]" in accented English. In the late 20th century, when white hippies sang such songs with guitars around campfires, they were not criticized for "cultural appropriation." This was because it was believed that "cultural differences were superficial" (p. 237) and that humanity could fundamentally become one. However, some of these white hippies later became the bourgeois left, while others became white supremacist evangelical Christians who support Donald Trump, and as of the 2020s, they are in a conflict that is difficult to reconcile.

Through the phenomenon of religion, Luhrmann considers why the 1960s dream of humanity becoming one was lost and why division remains. Her conclusion was that humans are creatures that engage in "real-making," and once this is established, it becomes extremely difficult to share that reality with others. For those interested in the changes in society and people's consciousness since the 1960s, this book will surely provide beneficial insights.

Real Making: How "God" Becomes Reality (by Tanya M. Luhrmann)

Tami Yanagisawa (Translator)

Keio University Press

360 pages, 3,520 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.